Securities Lawyer 101 l Brenda Hamilton

Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Penny Stock Fugitive Gregory Curry Arrested in Prachin Buri

On August 19, 2013, the Federal Bureau of Investigation circulated a new Wanted by the FBI poster to announce that Sandy Winick, indicted the week before on multiple counts of stock manipulation, wire fraud, and mail fraud, had been captured. The next day, Gregory Curry was arrested. According to the FBI, Winick and Curry operated domestically and internationally under various identities through the use of alias names.

According to the FBI, Curry and Winick were participants in a $140 million penny stock fraud scheme that bilked investors in 35 countries. The investigation led to one of the largest investigations in penny stock history. According to the FBI, the pair enlisted the help of dozens of individuals who participated in the schemes.

The Other Participants

While nine persons have been charged in connection with the investigation, the FBI has not yet charged or released the names of complicit attorneys, transfer agents and brokers referenced in Mr. Curry’s “Wanted By the FBI” poster, “The schemes involved numerous individuals including stock promoters, middlemen, transfer agents, brokers, attorneys, and others who also participated in the schemes”

The Arrest

On Saturday, August 17, Winick was apprehended in the lobby of the Empire Palace in the Yannawa District of the city by Thai Special Branch police. He is now awaiting extradition to the United States. Curry was picked up in Prachin Buri, outside Bangkok, by Thai officials working with the FBI and U.S. Embassy personnel. He will also face extradition proceedings.

The indictment of Winick and eight associates was announced by the DOJ on August 13. All of the alleged perpetrators are Canadian or U.S. citizens. Seven of them were arrested immediately; two, Kolt Curry and Joseph Manfredonia, were denied bail because they are considered to be flight risks. No doubt Winick will receive the same treatment. With Curry’s arrest, all of the fugitives have been captured.

The defendants stand accused of operating pump and dump schemes, and then sucking their victims into an advance pay scheme, promising to help them recoup their losses either by selling their securities to purported waiting investors, or by joining class actions against the companies whose stock they’d purchased. Both alternatives involved the payment of fees for services that would not be rendered. Adding insult to injury, some of the scammers impersonated Internal Revenue Service agents, demanding “advance tax payments” from the people they’d already robbed.

It is alleged that Winick and his confederates reaped as much as $140 million in ill-gotten gains.

The Bangkok Post caught the scoop, but by the evening of the 19th reports were circulating in North America, especially in Canada, where the story made the evening television news. The apprehension of Curry closes this phase of a very successful international anti-crime operation involving officials from the U.S., Canada, and Thailand.

FBI Assistant Director in Charge Venizelos stated, “Sandy Winick and Gregory Curry were wanted for their alleged roles in one of the largest international penny stock frauds and advance fee schemes in history. Their arrests are a significant accomplishment for the FBI as we continue our work in this ongoing investigation. We would like to thank our overseas partners, especially the Royal Thai Police, for their ongoing assistance with this matter.”